Description: "Somewhere" is a witty, moving, and
empathetic look into the orbit of actor Johnny Marco. You
have probably seen him... in the tabloids; Johnny is living
at the legendary Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood. He has
a Ferrari to drive around in, and a constant stream of girls
and pills to stay in with. Comfortably numbed, Johnny drifts
along. Then, his 11-year-old daughter Cleo from his failed
marriage arrives unexpectedly at the Chateau. Their
encounters encourage Johnny to face up to where he is in
life and confront the question that we all must: which path
in life will you take?

The Film:

The best movie directors aren’t just masters of technical craft: They
also are artists capable of showing you the world through their eyes —
of making you see and feel exactly what they do. With Somewhere,
her fourth, smallest and most risky film, writer-director Sofia Coppola
succeeds at the difficult task of turning moments of apparent
nothingness — a scene of a man alone in a hotel room, quietly smoking; a
shot of a father and daughter sunbathing at poolside — into eloquent
insights into the moods and psyches of her characters. Filmed by
cinematographer Harris Savides in the seductive haze that is typical of
Los Angeles, Somewhere is filled with long, uninterrupted shots in which
little seems to happen, but Coppola holds and holds on them, until
they’re suddenly suffused with emotion.

I am aware of spelling out themes that Ms. Coppola leaves unstated. But
the waters of this film are not only still and deep but also bracingly
clear, and the most remarkable thing about it may be how much it implies
while saying so little. There is barely any quotable or memorable
dialogue, and yet its images are so eloquent that they demand to be seen
over and over again.

Repeated viewing reveals how thoroughly Ms. Coppola has absorbed her
influences and how much she has pushed herself to grow from film to
film. Like “Lost
in Translation” and “Marie Antoinette,” “Somewhere”
is a study in gilded loneliness. And much in the way that “Lost,”
set in Japan, showed a debt to recent Asian cinema, so “Somewhere,”
which takes a voyage to Italy, betrays an engagement with the films of
Michelangelo Antonioni.

This is not a matter of imitation, but rather of mastery, of finding —
by borrowing if necessary — a visual vocabulary suited to the story and
its environment. If you pay close attention, “Somewhere” will
show you everything.

Image : NOTE:The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.

Video quality via the VC-1
encode seems at the modest, but accurate, end of the scale
via the
Blu-ray
medium for Somewhere. The purposeful grittiness gives
the film its verité reality and the 1080P transfer exports
this reasonably well. This
dual-layered with a strong bitrate for the 1.5 hour film.
There is a bit of digital noise in the darker sequences but
other than that we have no complaints.
Somewhere's colors seem true and the image has no
strong depth that many seek from
Blu-ray
but this is no fault of the HD rendering. By modern standards this is fairly tame
visually-speaking but as a representation of the original -
it is probably quite accurate. It provides a consistent,
authentic and clean presentation - which is all we can ask.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Audio :

The DTS-HD
Master 5.1 at 3596 kbps track doesn't get much exercise with
Somewhere's cerebral introspective moments. I noted a few instances
of separation but nothing in the film requires abundant surround or
aggressive depth. The original music by Phoenix has its moments and
quality is strong.

Extras :

The supplements
consist of a lone Making Somewhere
piece that is a little different from what we are usually used to -
almost like a short film within the film. It runs 17-minutes and peaked
my curiosity enough to indulge till the end. The
Blu-ray
offers the 'My Scenes' ability.

BOTTOM LINE: I feel greatness seething beneath the surface but Somewhere
didn't reach me in the way it might for most. I had a
similar reaction to Sofia Coppola
Lost in Translation but I am always anxious to see
more as her limitless directorial potential always capable
of exploring areas where mainstream dare not approach.
Admittedly there are some great Antonioni-esque moments in
Somewhere but also some cine-psycho masturbation with
the recurring 'celebrity loneliness' theme as well. The
Blu-ray image may not be the height of the format but does a good job of
presenting the film. I suspect those who enjoy the
director's expanding-ly curious work should consider
indulging in the
Blu-ray.

Gary Tooze

April 11th, 2011

About the Reviewer:
Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film
since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was
around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my
horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out
new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500
DVDs and have reviewed over 3500 myself. I appreciate my
discussion Listserv for furthering my film
education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver.
Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our
Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction.